Tag Archives: GAYNGS

The history of a song can be interesting and the actual story of a song is often different than what is known or understood by the public. It is one mark of a musichead that he or she knows who really wrote the song, and who first recorded it, and even who was playing piano or singing in the background. This week we’ll be hearing at least one song might test your musical knowledge. “Time is On My Side” – quick, whose song is it?

If you immediately thought of the Rolling Stones, join the club. In fact, the song was written by Jerry Ragavoy for jazz trombonist Kai Winding in 1963. In 1964, within a month of each other, the “Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma Thomas and The Rolling Stones both recorded the song. The lyrics were penned quickly – the original song only used “time is on my side” and “you’ll come runnin’ back.” The Stones’ version became their first top ten hit in the US (and got them in trouble when they performed it on the Ed Sullivan show). It also became “their” song in the minds of most listeners.

If you listen to Great River Radio this afternoon, you’ll hear Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint doing her version of this classic, and it is well worth hearing. While we are not focusing especially on covers today, we happen to have a few others: Violent Femmes doing Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” The Watson Twins doing an old Turtles tune “You Showed Me,” The Decemberists covering REM and Mark Growden covering Bruce Springsteen (with a banjo…)

But wait, there’s more! GRR offers lots of new music this week from our usual eclectic group of artists including Lykke Li, Superchunk, The Raveonettes, Adele, Drive By Truckers, husband/wife duo Tennis, and a new collaboration from The Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii – “easily the best acoustic-hip-hop-stringband-Romanian-gypsy-fiddle-old-time-hybrid you’re likely to hear this year.” AND if you are anxious to hear the latest from REM, we’re going to have that, too.

Join us today for a late winter mix, not of sleet and snow and rain, but of handpicked songs that we think you will love!